Water Hardness Electrodes with Ionophores Containing Oxy- and Ester-Groups

Lipophilic compounds combining oxy- and ester-groups are synthesized and studied as neutral ionophores in plasticized PVC membranes for the development of novel water hardness ion-selective electrodes. Electrodes based on the ionophores studied showed a higher selectivity to calcium over magnesium ions. However, for electrodes based on hexadecyl-4-hydroxybutanoate or decyloxybutanol this preference turned to be rather low: logK_CaMg=–(0.5–0.7). Electrodes with membranes containing hexadecyl-4- hydroxybutanoate, 0.3 M as a neutral ionophore and bis[4-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)phenyl]phosphate, 0.01 M as a charged ionophore, in combination with Ca²⁺-selective electrode based on ETH 1001 as ionophore, proved to be suitable for measurements of water hardness, also for the measurement of Mg²⁺ ion content in artificial aquarium fish-breeding water samples and in samples modeling electrolyte composition of blood serum.     

Ion-selective electrode for measuring low Ca2+ concentrations in the presence of high K+, Na+ and Mg2+ background

In this work, ion-selective electrodes for calcium ion were investigated. Two ionophores were used in the membranes: ETH 1001 and ETH 129. An internal filling solution buffered for primary ion was used that allowed the lower detection limit to be decreased down to 10^−8.8 M. Theoretical and experimental electrode characteristics pertaining to both primary and interfering ions are discussed. Better behavior was obtained with the electrode prepared with ETH 129 in the membrane. This electrode would be the most likely candidate for obtaining a low Ca²⁺ detection limit in measurements performed with high K⁺, Na⁺, Mg²⁺ background, which is found inside the cells of living organisms, for example. The potentiometric response of the electrode in solutions containing main and interfering ions is in good agreement with simulated curves obtained using the Nernst–Planck–Poisson (NPP) model.     

Processing of signals from an ion-elective electrode array by a neural network

Neural network software is described for processing the signals of arrays of ion-selective electrodes. The performance of the software was tested in the simultaneous determination of calcium and copper(II) ions in binary mixtures of copper(II) nitrate and calcium chloride and the simultaneous determination of potassium, calcium, nitrate and chloride in mixtures of potassium and calcium chlorides and ammonium nitrate. The measurements for the Ca²⁺/Cu²⁺ determinations were done with a pH-glass electrode and calcium and copper ion-selective electrodes; results were accurate to ±8%. For the K⁺/Ca²⁺NO^?₃/Cl^? determinations, the measurements were made with the relevant ion-selective electrodes and a glass electrode; the mean relative error was ±6%, and for the worst cases the error did not exceed 20%.     

Preparation and examination of calcium ion-selective electrodes for flow analysis

The preparation of calcium ion-selective electrodes based on known alkylphenylphosphate exchangers or on the ETH 1001 ionophore, and their use in a flow-through cell in a flow-injection system for the determination of calcium are described. The response and lifetime of the electrodes and the effects of magnesium and sodium ions on the determination of 10^?3?10^?5 M calcium are examined in detail. The ionophore electrode is shown to be most satisfactory.     

Evaluation of GaN and In0.2Ga0.8N Semiconductors as Potentiometric Anion Selective Electrodes

The response of potentiometric anion selective electrodes consisting of undoped GaN or In_0.2Ga_0.8N films grown on Al₂O₃ (sapphire) was measured in electrolyte solutions of F^?, NO₃^?, Cl^?, SCN^?, ClO₄^? or Br^? anions at concentrations ranging from 10^?6 to 10^?1 M. The slope of the linear regions varied between ?32.8 and ?51.9 mV/decade for the GaN electrode and between ?31.0 and ?72.0 mV/decade for the In_0.2Ga_0.8N electrode. The drift of the GaN electrode reached 1.57 mV/day in KNO₃ solutions, whereas the drift of the In_0.2Ga_0.8N electrode could not be evaluated due to large drops in the slope of its linear range over time. Both electrodes were sensitive to pH variations over the pH range from 12.8 to 1.3. The GaN electrode surface could be electrochemically etched under anodic polarization; however, both GaN and In_0.2Ga_0.8N electrodes remained chemically stable and mechanically intact under open circuit conditions even after prolonged use.     

Interaction of calcium ion with sodium triphosphate determined by potentiometric and calorimetric techniques

The stoichiometry of the interaction of Ca²⁺ with sodium triphosphate was determined using a Ca²⁺ sensitive electrode, divalent ion sensitive electrode, a glass electrode and by titration calorimetry, A 2:1 and 1:1 complex of Ca²⁺ and P₃O^5?₁₀ is found when titrating calcium chloride with sodium triphosphate by the calcium ion sensitive electrode and tritation calorimetry. However, only by titration calorimetry is the 2:1 and 1:1 complex found when titrating sodium triphosphate with calcium chloride. Thermodynamic value (log K, ΔH and ΔS) are reported for the formation of CaP(in3)O^?3₁₀ and Ca₂P₃O^?₁₀ in aqueous solution.     

Amide and Acyl‐Hydrazine Functionalized Calix[4]arenes as Carriers for Hydrogen Phosphate Selective Electrodes

Anion‐selective solvent polymeric membrane based on hydrogen bond‐forming, neutral ionophores with amide or acyl‐hydrazine groups are described. The use of the two calix[4]arenes results in anion‐selective electrodes with a selectivity for phosphate. The electrodes of the optimum characteristic have the composition of 1 wt% ionophore, 66 wt% o‐NPOE, 33 wt% poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) and TDMACl (15 or 30 mol% relative to the ionophore 1 and 2 , respectively). The optimized membrane electrodes show Nernstian responses towards monohydrogen phosphate (?29.1 and ?29.3 mV/decade) based on ionophore 1 and 2 , respectively, in a wide concentration range (1.0×10^?5 to 1.0×10^?2 or 1.0×10^?5 to 1.0×10^?1 M). The selectivity coefficients are determined with the fixed interference method and the activity ratio method. The electrodes display an anti‐Hofmeister series selectivity pattern and highly selective for HPO₄^2? over Cl^?, Br^?, CH₃COO^?, NO₃^? and SO₄^2?. The lifetime of the electrodes is at least 1 month and their response time is found to be 25 s. The proposed sensors could be put to analytical use both by direct potentiometry as well as potentiometric titration.     

A Neutral Carrier Membrane Calcium-Sensitive Electrode with Wide Working pH Range

Abstract

A poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membrane calcium-sensitive electrode based on a new type of synthetic carrier 1,7-di[2-(1-phenylazo)naphtyl]-1,4,7-trioxaheptan is introduced. This electrode exhibited Nernstian response over the concentration range 1.0×10^?1 - 3.0×10^?8 mol/L Ca²⁺ with a slope of 28.8 mV/pCa in calcium ion buffer solutions. The detection limit for calcium ion was 1.0X10^?8 mol/L. The response time varied from 10 to 30 seconds. The working pH range for the electrode was 3.5 - 12.3 when the concentration of Ca²⁺ was 10^?3 mol/L. The lifetime of the electrode was proved to exceed 8 months. It was applied successfully in the determination of calcium ion in river water, mineral water and cosmetic. A method for the determination of total calcium in urine was developed.     

Evaluation of Ionic Liquids Based on Amino Acid Anions for Use in Liquid‐junction Free Reference Electrodes

In this paper we report on the novel polymeric membranes for the liquid junction‐free reference electrodes. The membranes contain the ionic liquids (ILs) based on the amino acid anions, namely valine‐, leucine‐, lysine‐ and histidine‐anions, and 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium cation. Addition of the ILs, and especially of the valine‐based one, to the polymeric plasticized membranes allows significant stabilization of the electrode potential and makes it insensitive to the solution composition. A simple criterion based on the calculated lipophilicities of the cation and anion of the IL is proposed for a priori estimation of its applicability for potential stabilization. The addition of the IL as a microcomponent is found to be advantageous over plasticizing the membrane with the IL due to better potential stability, higher dissociation degree and mobility of the species. The resistance of the novel reference membranes can be tuned by addition of the lipophilic membrane electrolytes, e. g. ETH500. The applicability of the developed reference electrodes is verified in the potentiometric calibration of the indicator K⁺‐ and Ca²⁺‐selective electrodes. Implementation of the amino acid‐based ionic liquids with low environmental toxicity can make a significant contribution to the development of nature‐friendly potentiometry.     

Calcium ion selective membrane electrode

The calcium salts of the mono- and diesters of [4-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)phenyl phosphoric acid] have been prepared, and the individual esters as well as mixtures of the esters have been used with several varieties of polyvinyl chloride to construct macro membrane electrodes selective to calcium ions. These electrodes have been calibrated by using solutions of CaCl₂ and Ca ion buffers. The mixed ester electrodes showed Nernstian response in the concentration range 10^-1 to 10^-7M; the diester electrodes showed Nernstian response down to 7.9 x 10^-8M. The detection limit of the mixed ester electrode was 10^-8M, whereas that of the diester electrode was 7.9 x 10^-9M. Contrary to these results, the monoester electrodes showed unsatisfactory behavior. The responses of both the mixed ester and diester electrodes to calcium ions were not affected by the presence of sodium, potassium, or other divalent ions. Only ferric and lanthanum ions showed interferences with the electrode response to calcium ions. p]The electrode response was independent of pH in the approximate range 5–8 at a CaCl₂ concentration of 10^-4M. As the Ca ion concentration was increased, the range of pH independence widened to approximately 4–8. The dynamic response time constant of the mixed ester electrode was in the range 0.7–1.5 sec, whereas that of the diester electrode was in the range 0.5–0.75 sec.     

Micro Solid‐Contact Ion‐Selective Electrode Using a Carbon Nanotube Tower as Ion‐to‐Electron Transducer and Conductive Substrate

Solid contact (SC) ion‐selective electrodes (ISEs) have been recognized as the next generation of ISEs. In this work, the electrical conductivity and mechanical strength of a carbon nanotube (CNT) tower enable it to play the dual roles of transducer and substrate for micro SC‐ISEs. The electrode had a close to Nernstian slope of 35 mV/decade a_Ca2+, a linear range of four orders of magnitude of calcium ion activity (10^?5.6 to 10^?1.8 M), and a detection limit of 1.6×10^?6 M. The simplified fabrication by a one‐step drop casting makes miniaturizing SC‐ISEs and fabricating sensor arrays easier to achieve.     

Design of a Vitamin B1‐Selective Electrode Based on an Ion‐Pair and Its Application to Pharmaceutical Analysis

Vitamin B₁‐selective electrodes with PVC membrane were developed that contain ion associates of vitamin B₁ with an inorganic anion, BiI₄^?, and an organic anion, brilliant yellow, as electrode‐active substances. The linearity ranges of the electrode function are 1.0×10^?5–1.0×10^?2 and 1.0×10^?4–1.0×10^?2 M, the electrode function slopes are 33.0±1.0 and 33.1±1.1 mV decade^?1, the detection limits are 5.5×10^?6 and 8.3×10^?5 M for BiI₄^? and brilliant yellow respectively. The working range of pH is 5–12. The efficiency of the use of electrodes for the vitamin B₁ content control in multivitamin pharmaceutical preparations was shown by direct potentiometry and potentiometric titration methods.     

Solvation of Calcium–Phosphate Headgroup Complexes at the DPPC/Aqueous Interface

The effects of sodium (Na⁺) and calcium (Ca²⁺) cations on model zwitterionic dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) monolayers spread on metal chloride salt solutions are investigated by means of vibrational sum frequency generation (VSFG) and heterodyne‐detected (HD)‐VSFG spectroscopy. VSFG and HD‐VSFG spectra in the OH stretching region reveal cation‐specific effects on the interfacial water′s H‐bonding network, knowledge of which has been limited to date. It is found that low‐concentrated Ca²⁺ more strongly perturbs interfacial water organization relative to highly concentrated Na⁺. At higher Ca²⁺ concentrations, the water H‐bonding network at the DPPC/CaCl₂ interface reorganizes and the resulting spectrum closely follows that of the bare air/CaCl₂ interface up to ～3400 cm^?1. Most interesting is the appearance of a negative band at ～3450 cm^?1 in the DPPC/CaCl₂ Im χ_s⁽²⁾ spectra, likely arising from an asymmetric solvation of Ca²⁺–phosphate headgroup complexes. This gives rise to an electric field that orients the net OH transition moments of a subset of OH dipoles toward the bulk solution.     

Simultaneous Determination of Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and Cl− in Unstimulated and Stimulated Human Saliva Using All Solid State Multisensor Platform

Human saliva is one of the body fluids which collection method is relatively simple and non‐invasive. The article is dedicated to assess concentration (activity) of Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and Cl⁻ in fresh, unstimulated or stimulated human saliva samples using single solid contact ion‐selective electrodes with conventional reference electrode and self‐made multisensor platform (MP) equipped with ion‐selective membranes for Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and Cl⁻ and reference electrode made in solid state technology, based on dispersed KCl in the polymer. Both kind of electrodes, single ISE and miniaturized electrodes in multisensor platform (ISE‐MP) were made of glassy carbon. The electrode surfaces have been modified by conductive polymer (PEDOT) layer deposition; with the exception of Cl⁻ electrode, in which conducting polymer was not applied. Potentiometric measurements were used to compare the changes of the ionic composition in various samples of saliva.     

Selective Determination of Zn2+ Ion in Various Environmental,Biological and Medicinal Plant Samples Using a Novel Coated Graphite Electrode

Novel Zn²⁺ ion‐selective PVC based coated graphite electrodes were fabricated using the ionophores N‐((1H‐indol‐3‐yl)methylene)thiazol‐2‐amine (I₁), N‐((1H‐indol‐3‐yl)methyl)‐thiazol‐2‐amine (I₂) and 1‐((1H‐indol‐3‐yl)methylene)urea (I₃). Their potentiometric performance was examined in dependence of the addition of plasticizers and anion excluders and compared. It is found that the coated graphite electrode with the composition I₁:KTpClPB:o‐NPOE:PVC=9 : 1.5 : 51 : 38.5 is the best with respect to the wide working concentration range (4.2×10^?8–1.0×10^?1 mol L^?1), low detection limit (1.6×10^?8 mol L^?1) and wide pH range of 3.0–8.0. The proposed electrode was successfully applied to quantify Zn²⁺ in various environmental, biological and medicinal plant samples and used as indicator electrode.     

Asymmetrical Schiff Bases as Carriers in PVC Membrane Electrodes for Cadmium (II) Ions

5‐[((4‐Methyl phenyl) azo)‐N‐(6‐amino‐2‐pyridin) salicylaldimine] (S₁), and 5‐[((4‐methyl phenyl) azo)‐N‐(2‐diamino‐2‐cyano‐1‐ethyl cyanide) salicylaldehyde] (S₂) with N and O donor atoms are effective ionophores to make Cd²⁺‐selective membrane electrodes. The electrodes based on S₁ and S₂ exhibits a Nernstian or near‐Nernstian response for cadmium ion over a wide concentration range 1.5×10^?1–7.5×10^?7 with a slope of 28 and 2.0×10^?1–4.0×10^?7 with a slope of 22, respectively. They have quick response and can be used for three or four months without any divergence in potential. The proposed sensors show fairly good selectivity over some alkali, alkaline earth, transition and heavy metal ions. The electrodes based on S₁ and S₂ can be used in the pH range 3.5–9. These electrodes were used as an indicator electrode in potentiometric titration of cadmium ion with EDTA and in the direct determination of cadmium ion in aqueous solutions.     

Unsymmetrical Tetradentate Schiff Bases Copper (II) Complex as Neutral Carrier for Thiocyanate‐Selective Electrode

Abstract

Three kinds of transition metal chelates of unsymmetrical tetradentate Schiff base, o‐hydroxybenzophenone‐1,2‐diaminobenzene‐pyrrole‐2‐carbaldehyde(H₂L), were synthesized to prepare anion‐selective electrodes and their anion response characteristics were investigated. The results show that the performances of the electrodes are considerably influenced by the nature of the central metals. The proposed electrode with the Cu(II)‐chelate and cationic additive demonstrated an anti‐Hofmeister selectivity sequence with a good selectivity towards thiocyanate in the following order: Thiocyanate>iodide>salicylate>perchlorate>bromide>nitrite>chloride>acetate>fluoride>nitrate>sulfite>sulfate. The electrode had an excellent linear response to thiocyanate from 3.4×10^?7 to 1.0×10^?1 M in phosphate buffer solution at pH 5.0 with a slope of ?58.7 mV per decade, a detection limit of 1.6×10^?7 M, and a fast response time within 5 s over the entire concentration series. Spectroscopic techniques and AC impedance were used to investigate the response mechanism to thiocyanate of the membrane doped with Cu(II)‐chelate. The preliminary application of the electrode for determination of thiocyanate in wastewater and urine samples is reported.     

Rapid Selective Electrocatalytic Reduction of Carbon Dioxide to Formate by an Iridium Pincer Catalyst Immobilized on Carbon Nanotube Electrodes

An iridium pincer dihydride catalyst was immobilized on carbon nanotube‐coated gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) by using a non‐covalent binding strategy. The as‐prepared GDEs are efficient, selective, durable, gas permeable electrodes for electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to formate. High turnover numbers (ca. 54 000) and turnover frequencies (ca. 15 s^?1) were enabled by the novel electrode architecture in aqueous solutions saturated in CO₂ with added HCO₃^?.     

A simple approach for fabricating solid-contact ion-selective electrodes using nanomaterials as transducers

A simple and robust approach for the development of solid-state ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) using nanomaterials as solid contacts is described. The electrodes are fabricated by using the mixture of an ionic liquid (IL) and a nanomaterial as intermediate layer, formed by melting the IL. Tetradodecylammonium tetrakis(4-chlorophenyl)borate (ETH 500) is chosen as an model of IL to provide strong adhesion between the inner glassy carbon electrode and the intermediate layer. Nanomaterials including single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and graphene were used as active ion-to-electron transducers between the glassy carbon electrode and the ionophore-doped ISE membrane. By using the proposed approach, the solid-contact Cu²⁺- and Pb²⁺-selective electrodes based on ETH 500/SWCNTs and ETH 500/graphene as transducers, respectively, have been fabricated. The proposed electrodes show detection limits in the nanomolar range and exhibit a good response time and excellent stability.